FAQ

Where can I buy Cafe Justicia?

Cafe Justicia is distributed across Canada by the Cafe Justicia by the Cafe Justicia Network, an alliance of Canadian groups that support the CCDA.

Click on the province you live in for a list of Cafe Justicia distributors near you. If your province or territory is not listed, send your order to fairtrade@cafejusticia.ca to have the coffee mailed to you. Postage is free for orders of 10 bags or more.

Cafe Justicia is also sold as green beans to the following roasters, who sell it under their own labels: Bean Around the World (Cafe El Paraiso), Cafe Etico (Cafe Etico, Guatemalan), Oso Negro in Nelson (blended into almost all their coffees) and Volcanic Coffee Volunteers in Ontario(Lava Java).

No. FEDACOCAGUA, the cooperative that the CCDA hires to prepare its coffee for final export is fair trade certified, but neither BC CASA/Cafe Justicia - BC nor the CCDA are officially registered with fair trade organizations.

Why Not?

Third party certification by Transfair Canada and its international counterpart the Fairtrade Labelling Organization (FLO), is a good idea, especially for commercial enterprises, that do not have direct relationships wiht the producer organizations. This is because having an independent body carrying out inspections is the best guarantee for the consumer that Fair Trade standards are really being met.

However, certification with Transfair and FLO requires the payment of such a large number of fees and the completion of a great amount of paperwork that is is quite a challenge for volunteer groups such as BC CASA that work directly for the producer organizations.

For roasted Cafe Justicia to be certified in Canada, the CCDA would have to certify with FLO each of its member cooperatives, BC CASA/CJ-BC would have to certify with FLO as a fair trade importer and again with Transfair Canada as a distributor. All this costs thousands of dollars that the CCDA believes is better spent supporting thier communities.

As well, the CCDA, having exported under the certified fair trade model in the past (with Max Haavelar in Holand) finds that much less power and fewer funds remain with the producers than under Fair Trade Plus model practised by Cafe Justicia.

That said, it is one thing to buy Cafe Justicia directly from BC CASA members who, having spent time in the CCDA communities can assure the consumer that Fair Trade Standards are met, and it is another for a roaster, who buys Cafe Justicia green beans, to say to their customers "the people who sold me these beans promised that fair trade standards are being met." For this reason we are exploring the possibilities of certifying the CCDA co-ops (the CCDA is following up on possible certification subsidies from FLO) and BC CASA/CJ-BC as a fair trade importer. If we accomplish this, roasters selling Cafe Justicia will be able to carry the Transfair label if they choose.